Thursday, October 02, 2008

Defend Bolivia's Democracy

There is a struggle underway in Bolivia which has beenlargely overlooked or misrepresented in the mainstreamcircles in the USA. For the first time ever in Bolivia,the majority of the population exercises its rights asfully recognized citizens through electoral and civicparticipation. Efforts to battle poverty andilliteracy, the largest societal ills, are underway.Indian families, who for centuries suffered theconsequences of racist policies, including economicdeprivation, and physical violence, (much like AfricanAmericans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans in theUSA) are finally respected and recovering theirdignity.

While one would have hoped for enthusiasm here at home,the response to Bolivia's efforts within establishmentpolitical circles in the USA has been less thanwelcoming. Under the leadership of Evo Morales, thatcountry's first Indian president, Bolivia is pursuing anational economic development plan to uplift all of itscitizens. According to a 2005 United Nation DevelopmentProgramme report, at least six out of ten Bolivianshave incomes below the poverty line, and wealthpolarization is very significant between those at thebottom, and the rich elite which has traditionallydominated Bolivian society. The infant mortality ratefares no better and is one of the worst in the region.Faced with this reality, the Bolivian governmentunderstands that rectifying its historical inequalitiesis no small feat, but nevertheless, a necessary one forthe nation to advance.

In North America in the late 1800's, the ConfederateStates of America seceded from the United States ofAmerica and waged a bloody civil war against the North.Wealthy landowners plotted to keep the wealth of theSouth to themselves and out of the hands of Northernindustrialists who were developing the nation at arapid pace. While the retention of economic andpolitical power by Southern elites was the real issueat hand, racist arguments and slavery (the basis fortheir wealth) were used to justify their treasonousactions to the world.

Today, an analogous secessionist movement is underwayin Bolivia's wealthiest region, Santa Cruz. After areferendum vote recently ratified Evo Morales asBolivia's democratically elected president by anoverwhelming majority, there should be no more supportgiven to such illegal measures. This province holdsabundant natural resources and much of Bolivia's wealthis derived from its natural gas, farmland, iron ore,water and forests. As their constitution reads, theseriches should be used for the development of the entiresociety, not for the benefit of a few.

Currently, democracy is on the line as a small sectorof opposition actors known to use racist violenceagainst the poor, have called for the overthrow of thepresident and for secession. They have done so byutilizing the national media which has mobilized themost radical right-wing sectors to take to the streetsand engage in civil disobedience. Unfortunately, theseactions have been all but civil, including theinstigation of violence. Although the BushAdministration has chosen to stand by those calling tosecede and in so doing support the most racist andbackward elements of Bolivian society, it is the hopeof fair and genuinely democratic-minded people thatBolivia's right to sovereignty and respect for itsconstitution will be honored by the United States.

Secession, and the balkanization of Bolivia would be adisaster for the people of Bolivia (and the region),just as such processes have been disasters in Easternand Central Europe, Africa and Central Asia. Thenation-state is tasked with helping to redistribute thewealth of a country. In those countries withenlightened leaders, such redistribution pays attentionto historic injustices that must be repaired. For thisreason, we in the USA should be very careful beforeresponding favorably to abstract calls for democracythat actually hide the ambitions of the wealthy elites.After all, in our own history the Confederate States ofAmerica claimed that they were fighting a war againstNorthern alleged aggression and oppression. Mosthistories, however, tell a very different story.

We in the USA should respect Bolivia's right to self-determination and refrain from unhelpful interference.Just as the struggle against secession in North Americabetween 1861-65 was an internal matter for the peopleof the USA to settle, so too is it for the people ofBolivia today.______

BlackCommentator.com Executive Editor, Bill Fletcher,Jr., is the Executive Editor of BlackCommentator.com, aSenior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies,the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum andco-author of the book, Solidarity Divided: The Crisisin Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice(University of California Press), which examines thecrisis of organized labor in the USA.